Yafai vs Rodriguez Jr: British flyweight dropped in shock points loss

Rodriguez burst out of the blocks, rattling the champion early and buckling Yafai’s legs with a sharp left uppercut. Yafai struggled to fully recover as Rodriguez’s quick hands continued to find the mark through the early stages.

Yafai rallied in the fourth, landing clean with his backhand, but was hampered by blood pouring from a cut above his left eye. Rodriguez also suffered a cut later in the fight.

The Birmingham fighter – who cruised past Sunny Edwards in November – looked second-best throughout, his body language offering little encouragement to the home crowd. He frequently dabbed at the eye and found it difficult to match Rodriguez’s pace.

Rodriguez had his fired-up corner roaring in the seventh when Yafai was floored, although it was ruled a slip. The damage, however, had already been done earlier in the round, with the 31-year-old away fighter landing a flurry of punches.

A crisp straight right and uppercut connected in the eighth, with Yafai showing heart and toughness to stay in the fight. Both men were inspected by doctors before the ninth due to cuts, but it was Rodriguez who continued to dominate, hurting Yafai again as blood stained the referee’s shirt.

By the championship rounds, Yafai looked increasingly resigned to his fate. A clean left-right combination dropped him in the 12th. He rose with a wry, deflated smile before moments later leaving the ring without giving a post-fight interview.

A world title shot against Japan’s unified champion Kenshiro Teraji had seemed within touching distance but instead Yafai’s dream of becoming an Olympic and world champion is paused for now.

“He failed on the hurdle to elite level and that’s sometimes what happens. He’d only had nine fights,” Hearn added.